I am a London-based journalist covering international business and investment opportunities for entrepreneurs throughout the world. I believe entrepreneurship can transform the world economy and be the best tool for addressing issues in the developing world. I look at interesting and unusual business models, how society supports and interacts with entrepreneurs and the role technology plays in entrepreneurship and innovation. I also look at what red-tape, rules and regulations budding entrepreneurs will face as they explore new markets. I currently also write for the international business and investment publication, PathfinderBuzz.com and the market analysis publication, ECigintelligence.com. I previously worked as a freelance journalist, writing for publications such as International Business Times, The Grocer and AGI Magazine. Prior to that I worked for the industry publication, Food Manufacture Magazine.

Why Hong Kong's Entrepreneurial Reputation Is Growing

Hong Kong is quickly becoming an entrepreneurial hot-spot in Asia. The city, long known as destination for established businesses looking for a base from which to target other markets in China and South East Asia.

But changing international dynamics mean that many Chinese companies are now coming to Hong Kong before heading out into the wider world markets. This is creating a new domestic service market which is attracting and growing startups.

“Many mainland brands find that while they’re perfectly adequate in China, they don’t work overseas. This means that these companies are looking for other items – accounting, law, design, and digital marketing – that will help them develop strategies and brands that will work overseas,” says Simon Galpin, director-general of investment promotion at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK). “They realise they need specialist help and that creates an opportunity for service providers.”

This has increased Hong Kong’s desirability as a go-to location for entrepreneurs looking to set up a business or take their first steps to expand internationally – further helped by increased aid for entrepreneurs and new startups.

“Certain emerging nations and economies will dominate trade over the coming years,” Doug Richard, Founder of School For Startups and former investor on Dragon’s Den. “It’s not BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China]. I think Russia is going in its own direction but China is not just a trading opportunity but a source of wealth creation in its own right.”

For example, Hong Kong only had three new business incubation hubs about three years ago. There are now 32 of them that have given a starting boost to 1,600 companies between them, says Galpin.

A panoramic view of the Hong Kong skyline taken from a path around Victoria Peak. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“I’m optimistic about Hong Kong but the bus is leaving the station, which happens to me a lot,” Richard says.

Hong Kong’s growing entrepreneurial scene is also aided by the city’s historic stature as a hub for regional and global headquarters. This has provided new businesses with a way into markets as well as a source of funding, says Galpin.

For instance, TescoTesco has recently moved its global sourcing to Hong Kong – putting a team there that works with new companies to get their products on shelves in Tesco stores worldwide. “Counter-intuitively, if you’re a UK company and want to sell in Tesco, you might want to come to Hong Kong first to build those relationships,” Galpin adds.

Equally the headquarters mean that there are a significant number of high net-worth individuals based in the city. This can be an interesting untapped source of financing for entrepreneurs. “Many high net-worth individuals are also angel investors,” Galpin says. “Entrepreneurs are coming in and we’re convincing people working in traditional industries to come on board with supporting them.”

The global economy is continuing to shift. China’s importance as a marketplace continues to grow and the importance of south-south trade is also rising. Hong Kong is well placed to benefit from these factors influencing the world economy.

“School For startups is a canary in the mine,” Richard adds. “Not in the sense we die first, but in that we are a belle whether of cluster growth and formation. We saw Hong Kong and Columbia as the next two places we had to be in and if that doesn’t make sense you don’t track growth properly.”

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Hong Kong is the financial center for the whole Asia. When you hear about the Asian financial center, it is Hong Kong. It is not Singapore. There were four little dragons in Asia, namely Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. But now the real dragon is Hong Kong. Many S&P five hundreds companies have set up their headquarters there. All the banks, small or big, domestic or international, have set up a branch there. There is a district called financial district pretty with only banks there. There are many investment institutes there too. The Hong Kong stock market is one of the largest market in terms of market caps. It is still growing rapidly. Many mainland companies are trying to list their shares there. These are not the type of companies cooking their books. These are the companies with good quality and good potential for growth. Usually only the best Chinese choose to go to Hong Kong or US. But there are many advantages, you could expose to the whole world but still close to your home. With the globalization in progress, every successful company needs to go oversees. This is how you could compete with your peers. And you will get the best technology from all over the world. Hong Kong is a kind of bridge for this. There the information is free and there are not many restrictions at all. Freedom is not connected to economy normally. But a good political environment certainly will provide more convenience for the business growth. Hong Kong has been rated one of the most competitive city in the world. It is one of the most advanced society, with great democracy. Above all, it has the rule and law. People abide by the rule and law. It is a civilized society. All the people are well educated and polite each other. There are many rich people there. The richest people in Asia actually lives in Hong Kong. With all the rich people there, these are invisible wealth. They all have good wealth there. This alone will create tremendous business opportunity. The another business is the tourism. Hong Kong is also called shopping paradise. You can buy anything you want. There is no custom tax there. These goods are imported to Hong Kong without any heavy duty. The price is very competitive. The shopping center is all over the street. There are some big shopping malls there too. Because all the stores are together, you can do one shop at once. I did some comparison, the price is highly competitive. For the computer, the price there is a little cheaper than in US. Some other luxurious goods, the similar situation exists. In mainland, some of the goods are ridiculously expensive and are put of touch for ordinary people. Why is that? I have no explanation. It is monopoly, maybe. There is only a few stores authorized to run this kind of business. They can charge their customers as much as they want. It is not fair for the consumers. It will change some day because the on line shopping has been taking off. Going back to financial situation, there is no doubt that Hong Kong will remain the center for a long time until the mainland take it over. But that could take a long long time.

Thanks for your comment! Hong Kong certainly does have a number of advantages compared to its East-Asian rivals. I’d agree it’s currently ahead of rivals such as Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea – although I’d say Singapore especially is experimenting with new methods to allow it to catch-up with its rival as a centre of Asian finance.